


the unbearable cuteness of being

by LadyVictory



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Multi, OT3, Other, Threesome - F/F/F, Werewolf!Danny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-20 02:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4770794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyVictory/pseuds/LadyVictory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura’s tummy rumbles, reminding her that she – and the two fluffy creatures that go bump in the night – have yet to eat.</p><p>“I should probably feed us, huh?”</p><p>Danny’s tail gets to wagging, excited, and Carmilla meows in agreement then chomps down on the werewolf’s paw. Danny yelps and bolts off the bed, barreling to the opposite side of the room with her tail between her legs, leaving a self-satisfied Carmilla licking her paw and cleaning her ears.</p><p>Oh boy. It is going to be a loooong few days...</p><p>////</p><p>In which Carmilla and Danny are turned into tiny versions of their animal selves, and the rest of the squad have to figure out why and how to change them back.</p><p>Mostly an excuse for fluffy cuteness, with a few moments of melancholy thrown in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. WAKING UP

**Author's Note:**

> AN 1: I own none of the things, and make none of the munnies.
> 
> AN 2: Completely unbeta'd. Mah bad.
> 
> AN 3: Written for a friend who is getting her wisdom teeth removed and needed some cheering up.

The first thing that Laura Hollis notices as she slowly returns to consciousness is that she is cold. The undergrad frowns; this isn’t right.

Last night Laura had fallen asleep sandwiched between her girlfriends:

Danny the living furnace (the redhead had explained the phenomena once, something about werewolves metabolisms running on overdrive to support the shifting or something, but Laura couldn’t remember because Danny was doing that thing with her nose where it crinkled when she got excited about a topic of conversation).

And, Carmilla, who despite being a vampire devoid of the ability to make her own heat, was almost human temperature when she was well fed (which she was, thank you very much).

It’s Saturday morning, and none of them have anything to do until well after noon, when they should at least rise to eat something. Laura should be snuggled between her two favorite girls, downright toasty.

Rubbing blurrily at her face, Laura sits up slowly, startling when she kicks a lump situated at the foot of the bed. The lump whines, and her eyes snap open.

At the end of the bed, looking at her with soulful blue eyes, is an enormous brick red wolf cub (it’s the size of a border collie, but the giant paws and floppy ears give it away as a pup). It’s coloring, that rich red with strawberry highlights, tickles the back of Laura’s mind; it is so familiar. Sort of like a lighter, brighter version of Danny’s fur when she transfo….

“Oh… Oh no. Nope,” Laura whispers, mind fritzing out momentarily.

Danny is an adult. Danny’s wolf, when she shifts, is an adult. Huge. The size of a grizzly bear. This is a puppy, despite its size, and has no business here, in her bed. She doesn’t even let Danny into the room when she changes, because her hair gets absolutely _everywhere_ , and Laura hates doing laundry and vacuuming as much as any other college student. (To be fair, Danny also doesn’t transform unless she is out in the woods beyond the campus, because she is always so scared she may accidentally cause a panic.)

There is no way that this – truthfully precious – juvenile wolf is her girlfriend. Absolutely not.

Except, those eyes are unmistakable, and also, what in the name of Underworld would a wolf be doing in her locked dorm room otherwise?

“Danny?” Laura asks.

The pup barks happily and bounces up, clumsily making its – oh dear god, _her_ – way up the bed. Her tail wags enthusiastically as she flops forward into Laura’s chest and licks her face, knocking the wind out of the girl (she is adorable and clearly a baby, but really, so frickin’ huge and gangly) and dislodging something from her lap.

Laura gently pushes the wolf cub onto the bed next to her, staring, mouth agape.

A pitiful mewling catches the undergrad’s attention.

The smallest kitten Laura has ever seen in person claws its way back up her body to sit on her chest.

“Car… Carmilla?” Laura squeaks, caught between dying of complete horror and of absolute cuteness overload.

No. Absolutely not.

The black kitten (who has rounded ears like a panther, but is barely the size of a mass media paperback) flicks her tail and licks her paw, as if she is trying to appear unaffected by her fall.

Slowly, so as not to dislodge the kitten, or excite the puppy, Laura reaches for her phone and texts the only person she can possibly trust with this…

 

////

 

LaFontaine regards the (possibly, definitely) former Carmilla and Danny with a raised eyebrow.

“Baby Wolf-Dan is humongous,” they note offhandedly.

She really, really is. But considering how tall adult human Danny is, and how enormous adult wolf Danny is, they should not be surprised.

Puppy-Danny barks and snorts, rolling around once before standing again and preening.

Carmilla-Kitten mews disdainfully from her position on Laura’s yellow pillow; if cats could roll their eyes, Laura is sure Camilla would do so.

LaF squats down and reaches out a tentative hand towards the large wolf cub, allowing the creature that was probably (almost certainly at this point) formerly their classmate to sniff their hand. (Definitely) Danny doesn’t even hesitate, just licks at their fingers and yips once, clearly pleased, before heading butting the Bio major in the chest playfully.

LaF lands on their butt, giggling as the wolf pup licks their face and chews gently on their chin. Danny wags her tail at top speed, thumping it against the bed.

“Danny!” Laura chides, but LaF waves her off. Their smile is so big it practically splits their face.

“Puppy-Danny is way friendlier than adult person-Danny,” the scientist giggles, scratching the enthusiastic puppy behind the ears.

Perry hides a smile as she watches the not-so-tiny werewolf playfully maul her partner’s sweater.

Carmilla-Kitten decides she has had just about enough of being ignored and hops off the bed, wandering over to LaF and Danny. Danny turns and barks, ecstatic that the kitten wants to play, lowering her nose so she can better see her co-girlfriend.

Carmilla hisses and swipes at the puppy’s nose. Danny yelps and backs away into LaF, who loops am arm around the whimpering baby werewolf.

“Carmilla!” Laura scolds, picking the kitten up and wagging a finger at her. The itty bitty panther mews with disinterest and pushes Laura’s finger away from her face with a paw, jumping down and rubbing herself against the journalism major’s legs.

“It’s okay Little-Big Dan,” LaF assures, rubbing the puppy’s muzzle.

Bending down, Laura scoops the kitten up again, cradling her to her chest. Carmilla purrs loudly, reaching out a paw and laying it against the girl’s shoulder.

Danny moves away from LaFontaine, approaching Laura with her tail between her legs and baleful blue eyes. She rests her head on the girl’s thigh, looking up at her with an expectant expression. Laura reaches down to pet her head, but Carmilla begins to squirm, and she has to use both hands to keep from dropping the little black fuzz ball.

Danny whines sadly; Carmilla purrs louder, clearly pleased with herself.

“Looks like you’ve got your hands full, frosh,” LaF says, grinning. “Awful cute problem to have.”

Laura nods, juggling Carmilla, trying to reassure Danny. “As adorable as this is, we need to figure out what happened so we can change them back. Danny has a major exam on Monday, and Carmilla… well, she has a paper due, but I don’t think she really cares.”

“That’s why they need to be changed back?” LaFontaine asks, raising an eyebrow. “Schoolwork?”

“Honestly, since I know we’ll find a way to fix this – we always do, right? – I'm just kinda happy to not have to hear their bickering. It’s getting out of control. I came home the other night and it was practically the Battle of Isengard in here!”

“I thought things were getting better?” Perry asks, edging into the room and closing the door, now that she has decided being a part of these shenanigans is unavoidable and potentially adorable.

Laura sighs, nodding a bit sadly. “They really were. The last few weeks have been… great, actually. No fighting, both of them going out of their way to be downright nice to each other. Carmilla even let Danny borrow her copy of Alice In Wonderland for her Children’s Lit presentation – original first printing! But, I dunno, something happened last weekend and… it’s been bad. Worse than before, really…”

Laura hasn’t said any of this out loud, to anyone, not even her girlfriends, and it feels oddly liberating. Also depressing, but it does feel good to get it off her chest.

Carmilla decides this is the perfect time to fling her upper body down and swipe at Danny’s nose again. Laura sighs, giving up and just clutching the kitten to her. Danny whines pitifully, mouthing the girl’s belt loop.

“Oh, for goodness sake!” Perry huffs, striding over with authority and gently scruffing the misbehaving Carmilla. The kitten yowls, indignant.

“Hush! That’s enough of that, missy!” Perry scolds, cradling the kitten in the crook of her arm and rubbing her chin. Carmilla the kitten purrs despite herself, eyes half closing.

Danny the overgrown puppy rears back, putting her paws on Laura’s waist and nuzzling her stomach. Laura smiles down at her, gently stroking her fur. Too. Frickin’. Cute.

“Best thing to do is talk it out with them. When they are more bipedal, probably,” LaF suggests, shrugging. “Let me go get my kit so I can take some samples, see if I can figure out what caused the change.”

Both creatures perk up at the word ‘samples.’

“Sure, that would be awesome,” Laura agrees, rubbing the space between Danny’s eyes and grining in delight when the werewolf’s eyes cross as she tries to follow Laura’s fingers.

“Right, back in a jiff,” the scientist says.

The second the door is open, the girls-cum-animals are out of the room like a shot.

 

////

 

It takes the three humans over an hour to get them back in the dorm.

Danny looks at them with large, betrayed eyes that break their hearts. Laura and Perry can’t watch, turning away as LaF mouths ‘I’m so sorry buddy,’ as they draw blood and clip hair and nails. The wolf pup whimpers but doesn’t struggle.

It takes both Laura and Perry to hold Carmilla down to get the clippings, which is ridiculous because the kitten couldn’t weigh more than 2 lbs soaking wet. The little black ball of hate screeches and yowls and tries to claw the girls apart.

After four failed attempts at getting blood, Danny trots over and gently scruffs the kitten in her mouth – immobilizing her – so that LaF can get it over with. Carmilla moans pitifully.

After, the little feline retreats under her bed, hissing and shaking. Danny tries to follow, so big she can only get her front half under. Carmilla growls out her teeny, tiny warning.

“Danny, maybe you should leave her alone…” Laura says, still not quite sure if her mini wolf-ified girlfriend understands her.

The brick red pup pulls back and stares at the girl for a second, before snorting at her and going back to what she was doing.

Danny drags the kitten out ever-so-gently and hops onto the bed, depositing the complaining fuzz ball between her own large paws and licking the top of her head until she stops trying to escape. The wolf pup yawns and lets out a soft ‘woof’ and lays her head down next to Carmilla, who after a moment reluctantly curls up next to it.

Laura uses Carmilla’s phone to snap a few pictures, biting her lip to keep from squealing…

“So, we’ll uh, just leave you to it…” Perry trails off, not at all immune to the cuteness.

“We’ll be back later, hopefully with some answers.” LaFontaine assures, tugging their girlfriend out of the door and closing it behind them.

Laura, now alone with her (girlfriends? furry charges? adorable new pets?) two favorite girls, turns around. She is at a complete loss as to what to do.

“Right. Okay… Now what?” Neither Danny nor Carmilla respond, just look up at her expectantly. “Crap…”

Laura’s tummy rumbles, reminding her that she – and the two fluffy creatures that go bump in the night – have yet to eat.

“I should probably feed us, huh?”

Danny’s tail gets to wagging, excited, and Carmilla meows in agreement then chomps down on the werewolf’s paw. Danny yelps and bolts off the bed, barreling to the opposite side of the room with her tail between her legs, leaving a self-satisfied Carmilla licking her paw and cleaning her ears.

Oh boy. It is going to be a loooong few days...


	2. BREAKING THE FAST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura spends some alone time with Puppy-Danny, Kitten-Carmilla and Perry bond, and LaF drops some truths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN 1: They aren't mine, I make no money off 'em.  
> AN 2: I know where this is going, but not how many chapters it will take to get there. I hope you can bear with me.  
> AN 3: I continue to be the worst at summaries and titles.

Laura considers ordering food directly to her dorm room, but in the end Danny’s prancing and whining by the door reminds her that there are other needs the poor thing has that would be better taken care of outside. She crosses her arms over her chest and shoots the little (giant) werewolf pup a stern look.

“Okay, we’ll go outside. But you have to promise not top run away from me again,” she warns, not at all oblivious to the fact that she is essentially trying to reason with a baby animal.

Danny barks and licks the undergrad’s hand, leaning against her leg as if to reassure her.

“Good. Okay then. We’ll go score some food.”

Turning to Carmilla, Laura frowns, clearly torn.

“Do you – ugh, I feel like I am going crazy – do you want to come too?”

The kitten seems to consider this for a moment, tilting her head to the side, before flicking her tail and looking away with disinterest.

“Right.”

Laura finds a bowl a fills it with ‘soy milk,’ leaving it on the floor by Carmilla’s bed. The little shadow hops down and begins to lap at the thick red liquid, purring with contentment.

“That would be adorable if it wasn’t so disturbing…” Laura mumbles, shaking her head.

Danny yips, impatient, and Laura turns towards her, torn again between not wanting to leave her tiny kitten-fied girlfriend, and her less tiny, wolf-ified girlfriend’s pressing needs. With a sigh she opens the door.

“Be good…ish.  Be goodish,” she instructs, feeling like she is losing her mind.

 

////

 

After a solid fifteen minutes of Danny sniffing every tree within range – Laura is sure she is going to lose her frickin’ mind – she stops. The journalism major, who has been following close behind, paranoid the baby werewolf will take off again, almost trips over her at the sudden halt.

“Finally found one, huh?” the girl grumbles, so ready for breakfast she can practically taste the pancakes.

Danny whines, looking between Laura and the tree anxiously.

“What?”

Danny whines again, pacing a little, ears drooping.

“What’s wro-oh. Seriously?”

Danny barks, stomping her paws.

“Fiiiine.”

Laura turns, huffing in annoyance.

After a minute, the wolf cub trots out in front of the girl, clearly relieved.

“It’s not like I never walked a dog before, Lawrence,” Laura says, ruffling the fur at the top of Danny’s head.

The pup growls (it sounds more like a grumble, really, which Laura thinks is next level adorable), and head butt’s the undergrad’s leg.

“Okay, fair enough, those dogs have never been my mysteriously shrunken werewolf girlfriend,” Laura concedes, turning towards the center of campus and urging the werewolf to follow. “But still! Everybody poops! There’s even a book about it.”

If it is possible for canines to look absolutely mortified, Danny is doing it. Laura giggles, scratching the pup behind the ears.

“Come on, how about we see how many breakfast sandwiches we can eat before we pop?”

Danny barks, enthused, and races towards the dining hall. (She seems to remember her earlier ‘promise’ and doubles back often to make sure Laura is always in sight.)

 

////

 

Laura manages to sneak the thirty pound werewolf into the buffet style dining hall, and the two gorge themselves on delicious processed meats, Belgian waffles, and fresh fruit (Laura is delighted to discover that Danny will perform tricks on command for blueberries and strawberries).

As they wander home, Danny charges ahead and runs back, circling Laura’s legs, nipping playfully at her jeans and sleeves. Despite the – quite frankly frightening – situation she is in, Danny seems happy and full of energy.

Laura has never seen her girlfriend so carefree before. Even at her most relaxed, adult wolf Danny is always reserved and always so careful, especially around her human girlfriend (Laura did notice that the redhead was a little rougher with Carmilla, but even then, she makes sure to be in control). It’s kind of nice to see Danny let go for once.

When they get back to the dorm room, there is a note taped to the door in Perry’s neat script.

 

_**If you are looking for Carmilla, she is with me in my room.** _

_**She was raising a fuss – I think she was lonely.** _

_**She is welcome to keep me company whenever you need to step away.** _

_**< 3 Lola Perry** _

 

Laura finds it adorable that Perry signs off with a heart and her full name (as if her handwriting could be mistaken for anyone else’s).

Perry answers her door wearing Kitten-Carmilla across her shoulders like a living, purring shawl.

“Oh, Laura! You’re back much earlier than I thought you would be,” Perry says, absent mindedly reaching up to scratch Carmilla’s chin. The kitten curls further around her neck and sighs with contentment.

“Yeah… I was kinda scared to leave her alone too long.”

Perry nods and motions for the girl and the wolf to come inside. Laura and Danny oblige, the pup perking up – tail a’wagging, ears pointed high – when she catches sight of the tiny feline.

The curly haired girl sits at her desk, and her guests flop unceremoniously onto her bed.

“So, what have you two been up to?” Laura asks, laying her head on Danny’s furry side. The little(ish) red wolf licks her ear and rests her muzzle on Laura’s shoulder, eyeing the kitten mournfully.

“Carmilla’s been helping me with my knitting.”

Laura raises an eyebrow. “You knit?” Perry hums the affirmative. “Of course you do; why would I be surprised? And how’s she working out for you?”

"Fine! Great, actually. She managed to untangle three balls of yarn in the last half hour. Really impressive considering her lack of thumbs.” Perry gently removes the kitten from her shoulders (Carmilla grumbles in protest) and places her on her lap. “When she’s not being a brooding creature of the night, Carmilla can really be quite helpful. Plus, the yowling was starting to attract attention. Keeping pets on campus is strictly forbidden.”

Flicking her tail, the little feline in question jumps down and meanders over to the bed. She hops up and settles onto Laura’s chest, nuzzling her chin. Danny whines, moving her nose towards the kitten, who eyes her with a deadly warning. The pup stops, seeming to deflate and pout.

“Honestly,” Perry continues, smiling a little at the display – they really are precious. “I think she was just bored. When I went in to see what was wrong, I found her next to one of her larger books. It looked like she was trying to turn the pages, but her tiny claws were just ripping the corners…”

Carmilla mews, despondent, and stretches out a paw dramatically.

Chuckling, Laura cradles her in her arm and sits up, dislodging Danny, who shakes her head and snorts.

“And on that adorable note, you’ve reminded me that I have a paper due Monday and should probably hit the books.” The undergrad stands, smiling at her friend. “Thanks for watching her for me.”

“Oh, my pleasure. When LaFontaine is off doing their rogue science, it sometimes gets a little too quiet around here,” Perry says, shrugging and smiling back.

“You know you can always come over, Perr.”

Perry's smile changes into more of a grimace. “Oh that’s okay. Since the three of you started, uh, _dating_ , I’ve found that it’s less, err, _invasive_ if I have actual plans to see you set in place beforehand.”

Laura blushes a bit. The number of times she and one of her girlfriends have been caught in compromising positions by LaFontaine and Perry in the last few months are bordering on ridiculous, but Laura assumed it was just sort of a normal hazard of being at University. Though, now that she thinks about it, is has been quite some time since either the floor don or her adventuring buddy had come into her room unannounced…

“No need to look so guilty, Laura. I’m not a prude. I just understand the need for privacy.”

“Right. Yeah…” Laura clears her throat.

Perry waves her off. “Go work on your project, dear. We can have uncomfortable conversations about boundaries later.”

Laura isn’t sure – she nods, says thanks, and scoots out of there at lightning speed – but she thinks Perry is giggling at her.

 

////

 

Later, when LaFontaine opens the door to room 307, a frazzled Laura is so grateful she could cry. The journalism major is consoling a miserable overgrown Danny-Puppy, who is sporting a series of tiny, angry looking (a few are even bleeding) scratches across her muzzle.

Carmilla the bratty kitten sits primly on Laura’s desk, delicately washing her paw.

Danny yips at her and approaches the desk slowly, low to the ground (practically crawling) on her belly. Carmilla eyes the baby werewolf with as much disdain as possible for her little body, and hisses almost conversationally. Danny whimpers, ears flat, tail low but wagging.

“Oh-kay…” LaF deadpans, eyebrow raised.

Laura grips her hair in both hands, exasperated.

“You okay?”

“I have no idea what to do. Danny is obsessed with playing with Carmilla. She keeps trying to win her over, and Carmilla is just so mean…”

LaF raises an eyebrow. “So business as usual, then?”

Danny paces between the bed and the desk, big blue eye sad.

“The meaner Carmilla is, the more Danny wants to win her over, right?” Laura nods. “Classic Lawrence. Even when the three of you weren’t dating, she was constantly trying to impress she-who-broods-in-the-night.”

Danny comes over and whines at them, leaning against the journalism major’s legs. LaF reaches out and the wolf cub licks their fingers, despondent.

Carmilla mews, not at all pleased that she is being ignored. Danny slinks back towards her, and the kitten magnanimously extends a paw for the pup to sniff. Emboldened by the gesture, Danny raises up and noses at Carmilla’s side. Without missing a beat, the kitten bites the wolf’s nose. Danny whines and shakes her head, breaking free and backing away.

LaF blinks hard, mouth pulling to the side. “Yikes.”

Laura groans and shuts her eyes. “Yeah. I don’t know what to do…”

“Just a thought, but, you could do nothing.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s not your job to change their behavior. It’s kinda on them to deal with their issues, frosh.”

“I know, I know. But in the meantime their fighting sort of makes this three way relationship kind of super awkward and maybe impossible.”

“And of course you’ve all talked about this together like people, instead of them being jerks to each other and you just making sad eyes at them, yeah?” the Biology major asks knowingly.

Laura’s guilty look is enough of an answer.

“Then like I said, maybe having grown-up words about the state of the union are in order. Preferably when your lady-friends are human-ish. Might even figure out why they are fighting again.” LaF shrugs, giving Laura a small, supportive grin. “Not that I don’t want to help you guys out, but I’m more of a direct action sort of scientist.”

They glance at the two animals, who are looking at them with interest. “Also, it feels weird talking about people who are in the room but can’t verbally respond.”

Laura sighs and nods, opening her arms to a heartbroken Danny, who comes over and buries her nose in the girl’s thigh.

“Fair enough.”

“Annnd, as much as I enjoy lecturing you Perry-style, I’m actually here to see if I can borrow Wolf-Dan for a bit.”

Immediately the baby werewolf’s ears perk up and she tenses, leaning into Laura’s body and away from the other ginger.

LaFontaine winces. “No more needles, I promise buddy,” they assure, holding out their hands non-threateningly. “I just wanna run some scans and get some more hair and nail clippings. And your cat-girlfriend is kinda hell on paws.”

Laura hums in agreement. The only things Kitten-Carmilla seems to like are Laura, blood, and oddly Perry. Trying to perform tests on her would be a Herculean task at best.

Danny whimpers, ears down and tail drooping, but moves to the Bio major.

“We can even stop by the caf and get some bacon or something,” they add. Danny brightens up immediately, tail wagging.

Smiling, Laura gives her friend a thumbs up. “She also seems to love blueberries and strawberries.”

“Good to know. Come on, Wolf-Dan. Lets figure out how to unshrink you.”

With that, the two redheads are gone.

Laura turns her attention to the tiny kitten, who has relocated to her yellow pillow.

“I really wish the two of you would get along,” she grumbles, plopping into her rolling chair and rolling over to the desk.

Carmilla meows, sounding indignant.

“No, it’s _not_ too much to ask,” Laura replies, then pauses. “I’m losing my mind, I’m having a conversation with a cat.”

Carmilla purrs loudly, and Laura sighs again, gazing at the kitten that had become of her girlfriend.

“What happened between you two? You were doing so well…” She trails off, an idea sparking in her mind.

Spinning to face her computer, the journalism major opens the folder containing the last two weeks worth of footage from her webcam…


	3. TROUBLE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "SO sorry to offend you with my petty mortal notions, Countess. I shouldn’t have expected someone like you to understand. Clearly you are above all this nonsense.” [Danny’s voice is cruel and proud, and she sneers in a way that the girl watching the scene knows means that she is going to say something she will definitely regret.] “Girls like me are just another sob story to get the next into bed, right? Maybe a joke to tell your blood sucking friends? I wonder how many of the pretty words you whisper to Laura are just to pass the time.”
> 
> ////
> 
> In which past Carmilla messes up, past Danny has a mouth on her, there is an explosion and some (literal) character growth...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See previous chapters for notes and disclaimers...

Video feed begins

 

_The door to room 307 bursts open, slamming against the wall with a rattle. In strides Danny, face a mask of barely controlled anger. She stalks over to the foot of Laura’s bed, where her open backpack sits. She grabs it and starts shoving clothes and books into it._

_Carmilla wanders into view and leans against the door jam._

_“You’re being overly dramatic, Red,” the vampire drolls conversationally._

_"Shut up, Morticia,” Danny spits, voice too gruff to be entirely human._

[Laura flinches, startled at the tone.]

_Carmilla sighs and enters the room fully, closing the door behind her. “Haven’t heard that one in a while.” Her expression is unreadable._

[Laura knows from her body language she is agitated, even if the vampire’s voice is matter-of-fact, almost bored.]

_"Whatever.”_

_Done gathering her things, Danny turns, almost bumping into Carmilla who reaches out a hand to steady her. The werewolf jerks away._

_“Don’t,” the werewolf growls, muscles shifting oddly under her skin._

[Laura realizes that her taller girlfriend is moments away from losing control. She’s never seen her like this before, even at the full moon.]

_Carmilla sighs again, pulling back a step._

_“Danny…”_

_“No.” The redhead’s voice rumbles in her chest._

_Danny moves to the door, making sure to keep her distance, shaking with the effort to reign in the wolf._

_“Where are you going, Groot?” the vampire asks, voice almost conjoling._

_“I have a room of my own,” Danny says over her shoulder, hunching into herself._

_“And when’s the last time you were even there?”_

_“Too long.”_

_Carmilla huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re being an absolute child about this, gingersnap.”_

_Danny turns, eyes blazing._

[Literally blazing, like blue fire; it frightens Laura, who looks over with concern at Kitten-Carmilla dozing on her yellow pillow, content as could be.]

 _“Excuse_ me _if I’m not happy when one of my girlfriends laughs in my face and mocks me in public! God, what the hell is wrong with you?!”_

[Now Laura is shocked, mouth hanging open. Danny has never acknowledged Carmilla as anything more than the other girl Laura is with.]

_“Oh, so we’re dating now?” Carmilla snarks._

[Laura winces. That is exactly the wrong tone to take with Danny to deescalate any situation.]

_“Apparently not!” Danny shouts, hands balled into fists, looking seconds away from lunging at the smaller girl._

_“You didn’t let me explain. Jumping to conclusions must be especially easy with such long legs.” The sarcasm continues._

_Danny clenches a jaw full of too many, too large, too sharp teeth. “Apparently this is just a fucking joke to you. Apparently_ I’m _a joke to you.”_

[Danny does not curse. She can sling sarcasm with the best of them, she growls and shouts and can throw some cutting shade, but she does not toss around hard curse words. Ever. Whatever happened, Laura knows, it was the exact opposite of anything good or funny.]

_“If you would just pull your head out of your ass for like five seconds and listen! For fuck’s sake, you’re like a dog with a bone!”_

[Present Laura winces at past Carmilla’s choice in similes. There is nothing Danny is more sensitive about than her lycanthropy.]

_Danny gapes at Carmilla, mouth opening and closing a few times, as if she can’t quite figure out what angry thing to say first. The vampire uses the opportunity to continue, taking a deep breath and running her hands through her hair._

_“Look, Danny, I wasn’t trying to embarrass you or hurt your feelings, okay? Even I wouldn’t do that when… But, you took me off guard!”_

[Laura is pretty sure Carmilla has never actually called the werewolf by her given name before this conversation. It blows her mind a little, and also scares her, because she knows Carmilla must has messed up really, really bad.]

 _“You just, you_ _can’t just_ spring _that kind of crap on someone! Especially considering our history.”_

_Danny’s face falls, no longer angry, much closer to devastated. The werewolf looks sick to her stomach. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, and swallows hard a few times more._

_Eventually the redhead straightens to her full height, tilting up her chin._

_“SO sorry to offend you with my petty mortal notions, Countess. I shouldn’t have expected someone like you to understand. Clearly you are above all this nonsense.”_

[Danny’s voice is cruel and proud, and she sneers in a way that the girl watching the scene knows means that she is going to say something she will definitely regret.]

_“Girls like me are just another sob story to get the next into bed, right? Maybe a joke to tell your blood sucking friends? I wonder how many of the pretty words you whisper to Laura are just to pass the time.”_

_The reaction is instant._

[Hurt flashes briefly through Carmilla’s eyes, before her expression goes blank, but Laura sees it and she can tell Danny did too. The redhead does not look happy at the sight.]

_“Don’t you have somewhere to be, Fido?”_

_Without another word, Danny exits the room, slamming the door so hard the lock breaks._

_Carmilla stands still as a statue for a full minute, before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Her face crumples_ [it breaks Laura’s heart to see it] _for a moment, raw and open._

_“Fuck.”_

_In a puff of black smoke, Carmilla disappears from the room._

 

The video feed continues, but not for much longer, because Laura had come back soon after and noticed she had accidentally left the camera running.

 

////

 

When Danny and LaFontaine return, the first thing that Laura notices is that the wolf has grown significantly. She’s larger than a normal wolf now, almost doubled in size compared with that morning, and her fur is a bit darker and duller than when she left.

The second thing that the journalism major notices is that the gingers are bleeding.

Danny limps into the room, back left leg held up off the ground, a nasty looking cut near the bend of the knee. There is a gash above her right eye, too, and the blood is matted against her face, fur clumping and wet.

LaF’s face is a map of bruises and scrapes, and their right forearm is scorched and blistered.

“Oh my God, what happened?!” Laura squeaks, rushing forward.

Danny moves to her and slumps against her body, almost knocking her over. Carmilla eyes the large wolf from her perch on the bed, ears flat, tail swishing back and forth, clearly agitated.

“Funny story,” the Bio major starts, but is quickly cut off by a frantic Perry, who rushes into the room and throws her arms around the scientist’s neck.

“Someone said there was an explosion in the student science lab and I rushed to check but you were already gone what did you do are you okay don’t ever scare me like that again!” Perry’s voice is like a high pitched machine gun, and at the back of her mind Laura can’t help but be impressed.

“Breathe, Perr. We’re okay. Mostly.” LaFontaine murmurs, hugging their girlfriend tightly despite their neutral tone.

Laura examines Danny’s muzzle, neck, and scalp. Just the one cut there, but it looks so painful. So does the leg wound, which drips onto the floor.

Out comes Laura’s ridiculously stocked first aid kit (thanks Dad!), and the girls tend to and fuss over their respective redheads. Wounds are cleaned and slathered in ointments (Laura can’t for Danny, who will most likely lick it off and poison herself), and bandaged as much as can be (Laura manages to wrap the leg wound, but can’t do much for the cut on Danny’s head).

When it’s done, Danny limps over to Laura’s bed and flops down onto her good side, clearly exhausted. Immediately Carmilla moves closer, slinking forward until she comes to rest by the werewolf’s face. Danny eyes her wearily, ears flat.

After a few tense moments, the kitten (the size difference is now bordering on absurd) starts to groom the wolf’s face, purring high in her chest. Danny – no longer quite a puppy – relaxes, sad little sounds coming from her throat.

“What happened?” Laura asks again, nearly vibrating with restless energy. She wishes there was something she could _do_ to make things better. Something she could research and solve and everything would go back to normal – or as close to normal as Silas allowed.

“Long story short? The Alchemy Club,” LaF says, wincing as Perry finishes putting the last Tardis band-aid on their cheek. “Long story a little less short, one of their, uh, experiments got loose in the lab and Danny totally saved our bacon.”

“And the explosion?” Perry asks, holding LaF’s unburned hand and trying to stay calm. The Bio major shrugs, cringing a little.

“We may have had to use some less than stable environmental elements to keep from being eaten…”

Wolf-Danny huffs and raises her head as if she is going to get up. Carmilla uses both paws (remarkably gently, considering her previous fondess for injuring and torturing the werewolf) to pull her large red companion’s face back down, so she can continue her grooming.

“What exactly does that mean, LaFontaine?” Perry asks, voice a mix between exasperated and concerned.

“The experiment – which totally looked like a cross between a Sasquatch and the Killer Bunny – cornered us in the lab and had us dead to rights. We had to think quick and, oh man I just realized I totally owe my lab partner an apology! I ruined her experiment studying the persistence of Tardybears in various chemical compounds when I swiped the pyrophoric minerals that were next up to be used…” LaF sighs, shaking their head. “I am a terrible lab partner. Managed to save our samples and data though. I’ll get to work on them as soon as the ringing in my ears stops!”

Laura interrupts before Perry can start her fear speak disguised as a scolding lecture.

“Why is Danny more, uh, Danny-sized? Did she get splashed by the chemicals or something?”

The Bio major frowns, shaking their head. “No. I’ll take those gauze you used and add that to the pile of stuff to analyze.”

Laura looks over at the werewolf, who is lying on her good side, neck stretched out so that Carmilla can curl under her chin and continue her grooming. She wishes desperately she could fix this…

LaFontaine sighs, blinking hard against sudden exhaustion. “This is a question I should have asked much earlier in the investigation, but, can you think of anything odd happening yesterday or the day before? Anything weird that stands out, I mean?”

Laura squints her eyes for a few moments, then nods slowly.

“When they came back to the room yesterday evening – together, which is odd considering the last few weeks – Danny was on the warpath about Carmilla supposedly ruining her shirt. It was one of her favorites, but she ripped it off and chucked it in the trash as soon as the door was closed, before heading into the shower.”

“And I’m betting you didn’t get any details about how, why, or where the shirt was ruined?” LaF asks, hopeful. Laura pulls a face and shakes her head in the negative.

“Whatever is on it must be especially disgusting, though. Carmilla actually washed her hands .”

“I’m sure it was heinous, whatever it was, if Carmilla actually put soap and water together,” LaF quips, and they and Laura share a grin. “Do you still have it?”

Laura points to her trash bin, where a crumpled Summer Society t-shirt peeks out. Perry moves over to it and ties up the whole bag, making sure not to touch anything in it, before resuming her position beside her partner.

“I’ll see what I can do,” the scientist promises.

Perry helps her partner to their feet, wrapping an arm around their waist and starting towards the door.

“I can walk, Perr.”

“Let me fuss please. Unless you prefer a nice long lecture about safety and avoiding extra-normal trouble?” The arch of the floor don’s eyebrow is frightening. Even Laura gulps.

“Feel free to carry me,” LaF replies, smile like a grimace.

With an annoyed but fond huff, Perry helps LaFontaine from the room, closing the door behind them.

Alone with her two favorite girl-turned-animals, Laura is overtaken by sadness. All she wants to do is protect them, keep them away from the big bad world that could easily hurt them as they are. This, she realizes, must be what Danny and Carmilla feel about her all the time.

Carmilla’s little high pitched purrs have a distressed quality to them that breaks Laura’s heart.

She moves and sits down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to run a gentle hand over Danny’s side. The wolf eyes her, tired, and lets out a sigh.

“I wish there was something I could do…” she trails off, frowning as Danny lets out a huff and lifts her head in the direction of LaFontaine's as of yet still not reclaimed laptop.

Laura frowns, confused. “Huh?”

Danny huffs again and looks pointedly at Laura, then at the laptop, then at Laura again. After a long, confused moment, Laura chuckles and nods her head.

“Really? You blow up the science building while fighting a Sasquatch-Bunny and you want me to reward you with Netflix and cuddles?”

Danny’s response is to wag her tail. Carmilla mews in agreement and climbs in between the ginger wolf’s front paws and settle at her chest.

With a snort and an eye roll, Laura retrieves the computer and puts it at the foot of the bed, so that all Danny has to do is lay her head down and look towards her back legs to see the screen. Carmilla grumbles and re-positions herself in a ball at the wolf’s stomach.

The sight is so cute it is almost physically painful for Laura to witness.

With a few clicks and taps, Laura brings up the last thing they watched together (the only thing that doesn’t cause fighting about the proverbial remote).

_“In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires the demons and the forces of darkness…”_

Crawling carefully into the bed behind the now wolf-sized-wolf, Laura gently wraps her arm around Danny and rests her hand close enough to Carmilla so that the kitten can rub her tiny head against her fingers, which she does.

They all take a deep breath and settle in to watch the next episode.


	4. HOUR OF THE WOLF

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a snarl, Danny lunges forward, sending Carmilla flying into a tree and taking off further into the woods.
> 
> The vampire thumps down onto the ground, and the tree cracks and sways, but doesn’t fall.
> 
> “Oh my god, are you okay?!” Laura cries, rushing over to her dazed girlfriend.
> 
> Carmilla nods and coughs, rubbing at her lower back and allowing the smaller girl to pull her close.
> 
> “Well,” LaFontaine sighs. “That went roughly as expected.”
> 
> ////
> 
> In which past-Carmilla and Danny have a moment, there is science, and little fuzzies grow up again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See previous chapters for disclaimers n junk...
> 
> AN1: Warning, I guess. Ends a little less cute/fluffy. Mentions of PTSD and panic attacks.  
> AN2: This is coming to a close. Maybe 1 or 2 more chapters left.

Video feed starts.

_Laura sits in front of her computer, cleaning the keyboard with a wet wipe and air can._

_The door to the dorm room opens, and in strolls Danny, a big playful smile on her face and her hands held behind her back. Looking over her shoulder briefly, Laura waves happily before turning back around and attacking the keyboard with vigor._

_“Hey Hollis,” Danny murmurs, walking up behind her seated girlfriend and leaning over her. Laura tips her head back and accepts a kiss from the redhead._

_“Hey…” Laura sighs, blinking slowly as if she is waking from a pleasant dream._

_Danny drops a paper bag into the smaller girl’s lap._

_“Brought you something.”_

_“Oooo!” Laura squeals, tearing into the bag. The taller girl jerks back, her lightning quick reflexes the only thing keeping her tiny girlfriend’s forehead from smashing into her chin. “Oh my god, chocolate pie!”_

_The Summer Sister chuckles fondly._

_“What? Nothing for me, carrot cake?” Carmilla’s voice purrs from behind them._

_Moving to Laura’s bed, Danny reaches into her backpack and removes a cloth wrapped rectangle. She cocks her head to the side and holds it out for the vampire, who snatches it as she wanders over and plants her own kiss on their mutual girlfriend._

_“Hi cupcake,” she says fondly, softly bumping her nose against Laura’s._

_“Hey.” Laura seems to have been reduced to monosyllables, but her blissful smile more than makes up for it._

_Stepping back, Carmilla unwraps the cloth and removes an ancient copy of Alice In Wonderland. She snorts and raises an eyebrow, looking over at Danny._

_“This was already mine.”_

_With an indulgent grin, Danny pulls another item out of her bag – another rectangle, this one wrapped in parcel paper and twine – and hands that over as well._

_“Who would guess that a centuries old vampire would be so needy?” she teases. Carmilla sticks out her tongue. “At least you're mature.”_

_Rolling her eyes, Carmilla carefully opens the package, then looks up at her co-girlfriend with honest surprise._

[And pleasure, Laura notes, though the expression is quickly concealed behind a mask of condescending amusement. She can tell that the dark haired girl is immediately touched by the gift though, and apparently so could Danny, whose grin becomes a smirk.]

 _“You know I’ve already read this, yes?” the vampire asks, lifting the book_ [carefully, so very reverently] _for emphasis. It is a cloth bound copy of The Jungle Book._

_Danny’s smile falters for a moment, before regaining purchase on her face._

_“Yes, obviously. But I also know that you lost your copy in a flood, uh, sometime in the 70s, right?” The redhead shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest, a little defensive._

_“You were just complaining the other week,” Laura butts in, turning to look at her girlfriends, “about how the copy you borrowed from Danny-”_

_“Took from me right before the reading was due,” Danny grumbles, rolling her eyes. Carmilla looks unapologetic._

_“Yes,_ borrowed _from Danny at an, uh, inconvenient time, was abridged.”_

[Laura remembers wanting desperately to keep feathers unruffled and feelings unhurt, because things had been going so well, and Danny was trying so hard…]

_Carmilla opens the book, eyes skimming along the text for a few moments. She takes a sharp breath in through her nose._

_“Is this…” she looks up at Danny, blinking hard_ [eyes suspiciously shiny] _. “Is this a first printing?”_

 _Danny nods, confidence back, looking quite pleased with herself. “Well, you_ did _say that the only edition worth reading was the original.” The redhead looks rather smug._

_Carmilla moves so fast she is a blur, just suddenly appearing in front of Danny, one hand fisted in the taller girl’s shirt. Laura startles, but Danny just smiles wider._

_“This must have cost you a kidney, bean sprout,” the vampire whispers._

[Her voice a little awed, like maybe she can’t believe that someone would give her something so important.]

 _“Yeah,” Danny admits, nodding._ [Her expression is soft, more like the looks she gives Laura sometimes, when the younger girl does something especially precious.]

_"Why would you do this?”_

_Danny tentatively reaches out and untangles the shorter girl’s hand from her clothes, holding it in her larger one instead._

_Laura holds her breath and waits, eyes wide, smile hopeful._

[Her girlfriends had been closer lately, almost friendly, but there had always been a physical distance – as if there was an invisible barrier that kept them from touching. There is nothing the Journalism major wants more than for them to be in a place where they can possibly cross that line.]

_“It ate into my savings, a bit, sure. But tell me it was worth it and it won’t matter.”_

_Carmilla doesn’t respond, holding the book close to her chest instead, and squeezing the hand in hers lightly before pulling away to flop back on her bed._

_“You’re going soft Xena,” she says, her voice quiet and a little reverent, oh-so-gently opening the tome and turning the weathered pages._

[Laura remembers that the room had filled with the scent of old, loved paper.]

 _“You’re welcome,” Danny snorts, rolling her eyes_ [moment broken] _._

_As a reward, Laura kisses her taller girlfriend lovingly and lets her have the first bite of pie._

_Turning back to the computer, Laura notices the camera is on, and with a pleased smile, she turns it off._

Video feed ends.

 

//// 

 

“Adrenaline!” LaFontaine exclaims as they barge into the dorm room (things seem to be back to normal for them now that there is no chance of catching Laura and one of her girlfriends in the act).

Perry looks on apologetically from the doorway.

It’s much later, after a mini-marathon of slayage and a quick walk for Danny, which Carmilla insisted on joining by jumping into Laura’s arms and refusing to get down. Now, Laura has spread out the few take out menus she has on the bed. (For such a large University to be in the area, the surrounding towns are woefully behind; not one of them has GrubHub.)

“Huh?” Laura grunts. She is trying to see the pamphlets around a needy Danny, who has curled up in her lap as if she is Carmilla’s size, and a clingy Carmilla, who is perched on her shoulder, alternately licking the girl’s chin and stretching out her paw to pat the wolf’s muzzle gently.

“What’s going on here, Dr. Doolittle?” LaF asks, chuckling.

“They’ve been like this pretty much since you left. I’ve given up trying to push them off, they only get clingy-er – like supernatural koalas…” she says dryly.

Danny whines at the suggestion of being pushed away, snuggling closer, and the kitten mews and lays a tiny paw on the wolf’s nose in sympathy. The not-quite-a-pup licks the appendage, earning herself a little feline grumble but no retaliation.

Perry and LaFontaine look ready to burst from the cuteness; Laura just looks exhausted and ready for this to be over.

“You were saying?”

“Oh, right. Adrenaline. And probably cortizol, too.”

“These are, in fact, words that I vaguely recognize.” Laura is trying, she really is. “They’re hormones, right?”

Perry moves forward and gently takes Carmilla, who growls indignantly, until the curly haired girl taps her softly on the nose.

“That’s quite enough of that, young lady,” she murmurs, cradling the kitten against the fluff of her oversized sweater. Carmilla rumbles pitifully, looking over at Danny and Laura. “They aren’t going anywhere, dear. Let Laura breathe.” The girl strokes her soft fur, and Carmilla grudgingly purrs and curls into her arms, sighing dramatically.

LaF sits on the other bed and pats the comforter next to them, grinning invitingly and reaching into their pocket. Out comes a small baggie full of blueberries. Danny rises (stepping on Laura’s bladder in the process) and moves over to the scientist, laying down next to them and giving them her biggest, widest puppy-dog eyes.

“Stop, you’re killing me,” LaF groans, opening the bag and giving the wolf a few of the berries. Danny’s tail wags hard against the bed, rumpling the already messy sheets.

Laura smiles fondly, stretching and working the kinks out of her aching body. She cracks her neck with a low moan and flops back onto the bed to once again look at the menus. Perry joins her, keeping a firm arm around the kitten, leaning over to see the options. Without a word she points to one, and Laura nods and gives the thumbs up.

“So, adrenaline?”

“Yeah, adrenaline. So, I did an initial analysis of the blood samples and the weird goo – why is it always weird goo with these Alchemy Club kids? – and what I found is that Carmilla’s blood and Wolf-Dan’s pre-incident” (Perry raises an eyebrow at this) “sample both have basically negative amounts of adrenaline. As in, there was something in the blood actively surpressing their adrenal glands – and probably working on their pituitary glands too!”

LaFontaine is a little too excited about this for Laura’s taste.

“Would they even be able to move around? Isn’t adrenaline, like, necessary for everyday life?” Laura asks, frowning and reaching out to scratch Carmilla’s chin. The kitten purrs louder but makes no move to leave Perry’s arms, content in her warm perch.

“I mean, it is an important hormone, but mostly for the fight/flight reflex. And whatever else gets the blood pumping, I guess.”

Danny nudges LaFontaine with her nose, whining and eyeing the baggie. The scientist sniggers and feeds the wolf some more fruit.

"So, wait, okay, so there was something blocking their ability to produce adrenaline. But, what does that have to do with them being mini-sized,” Laura asks, glancing at Danny. “Comparatively.”

“Ah ha!” LaFontaine raises a triumphant finger. “That’s where the goop comes in! Preliminary analysis shows that not only does that stuff suppress adrenaline and probably cortizol production – and smell bad, man Hollis, how did you sleep in a room with that stuff? – but it also seems to repair and maybe reverse damage done by stress. Basically it looks like the Alchemy Club is working on a cure for the aging process. All very Nicholas Flamel…”

“Like a… a manufactured fountain of youth?” Perry asks, disturbed.

“Exactly! I have to run some more tests, but it looks like it’s only temporary anyway – and if the body is super stressed, by say being attacked and under threat of death, then the rush of adrenaline is too much for the stuff to stop. The wave of adrenaline seems to reverse the effects. Hmm, re-reverse anti-againg?”

The Bio major shrugs, pleased with themselves. They dump the rest of the berries into the palm. Danny barks quietly and gently licks the fruit into her mouth, careful not to put her teeth anywhere near her friend’s flesh.

“This still doesn’t explain why my girlfriend’s are stuck shedding fur all over the dorms,” Laura says, still a bit doubtful.

LaFontaine blows out an exasperated breath, displacing their bangs.

“Jeez Laura, I don’t know. Maybe it’s interacting all wonky with their body chemistry because they’re not human? Maybe they don’t know how to change back because they’re essentially toddlers?” They huff, testy and exhausted. “I can only work out so much on a Commodore 64 – which was the only computer hooked up to the analysis equipment to survive the explosion. It doesn’t even have an interface to plug JP into. There isn’t even a floppy disk drive!”

They cross their arms over their chest and look away, sulking.

Danny whimpers a little and forces her big red head onto LaF’s lap, rubbing her forehead against their arms until they relent and pet her.

Laura winces, a wave of guilt washing over her. She knows her friend is trying their best.

“I’m sorry LaFontaine, I’m just… I’m tired and frustrated and kinda scared. They’re so vulnerable right now, and I have no idea how to help make this better…”

LaF purses their lips and rolls their eyes, concentrating on scratching under Danny’s chin. They’re not _really_ angry, just bone weary and still a bit shook up form the whole escaped experiment/explosion incident. But, Laura can be a real trip when she lets herself be, and regardless of how fond of the little journalism major they are, they don’t take that sort of thing from anybody. (Except Perry, of course, but that’s different. Perry always apologizes right after by making guilt brownies or regret cupcakes, and gives them kisses on their forehead when she says sorry, and generally the fact that they are head over heels for each other makes quite the difference.)

“I just, I hate feeling useless, ya know? I hate not being able to protect the people I love.” Laura grimaces, fully aware that she has not discussed nor used the ‘L’ word with her girlfriend’s yet. “But, you are actually doing something, which is wonderful and I appreciate it and I’m sure they do to, and I’m just… sorry…”

Laura’s eyes are large and shiny and her lower lip pokes out, not quite pouting but definitely on its way.

The Bio major looks at their friend skeptically for a few moments, before shrugging and giving her a small grin.

“Can’t stay mad at you when you give me that face,” they say, rolling their eyes.

Laura sticks out her tongue, and they nod at each other.

 

They put a hold on any more science talk and order food. The two redheads take turns tossing Danny chunks of food while they eat. Laura inhales her meal like a tiny vacuum, and Carmilla laps at her ‘soy milk’ happily.

 

“So… How do we fix this?” Laura asks finally, when the empty cartons are gone and everyone is settled again. She cradles a limp and adorably snoring Carmilla to her chest, the kitten having fallen asleep shortly after her meal.

“Science!” LaFontaine answers, waggling their eyebrows. Perry rolls her eyes and pokes her partner in the ribs. “Yeesh, okay, okay! Simple answer? We overload their systems with adrenaline.”

Laura nods, wincing. “I was afraid you would say that.”

“Afraid?” Perry asks, tilting her head to the side and frowning as she plays with the sleeping kitten’s paw.

“Yeah. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the plan is to dump lots of fight/flight hormones into their systems all at once? To flush the suppressant out?”

LaF nods. “Basically. I have a Health major buddy who has access to epinephrine – synthetic adrenaline. Should do the trick.”

“What it sounds like is that you want to induce a panic attack,” Perry says, face scrunching in concern. “Isn’t that… dangerous? To them, I mean?”

The Bio major shrugs but has the good grace to look regretful.

“Short of actual danger, I can’t think of a way to get enough adrenaline into their systems at once to reverse the effects of the goo. Hell, even clear and present threats of death only did so much for Danny.”

“And there’s no way to let this just… run its course?” the floor don asks, looking between the wolf and the kitten, fret-mode activated.

“Look at Carmilla, Perr. She hasn’t grown noticeably at all. Even though the stuff probably fades on its own, how long would it take? Classes aside, there is always something insane happening around here, and Charles Darwin forbid something goes down and they get hurt for real.” They pause, looking at the two girls meaningfully. “Does no one rememberthe giant evil mushrooms of last semester? Or the goblin infestation over Spring Break? Or hell, the flesh eating butterflies from just last week?”

They all nod and cringe.

“Well, I guess it’s decided then,” Laura says.

No one looks happy (except for Carmilla, who sighs in her sleep and wiggles into a tighter ball in Laura’s arms).

 

////

 

It takes LaFontaine a few hours to get the epinephrine. They have all agreed that it would be safest to do what needs to be done in the woods off campus, and when the scientist arrives they are flushed and looking a bit harrassed, wearing a different sweater (though the same pants, which are sooty and a bit ripped), hair a mess.

“Don’t ask,” they say, hurried, as they unpack their bag.

Perry raises an eyebrow, decidedly not amused, but lets it go.

They have decided to try it on Carmilla first. She is tiny and will only grow so much, and is more likely in internalize her panic. Also LaF is not concerned about killing her should something go awry, because she is already technically dead.

Danny – who had to be picked up and carried halfway to the woods, her leg wound opening again and her limp too severe after leaving campus – scruffs the little panther and looks at LaF expectantly. The scientist shakes their head and hands Laura the injection.

“What? Why me? I’m not the Bio major!” the small girl whines, clearly terrified, holding the syringe away from herself like it will bite.

“You think I’m going to stab your surly vampire girlfriend, purposefully flooding her system with stress hormones and most likely triggering her PTSD? She won’t hate you if you do it, but me? I’d never be able to sleep with both eyes closed again!” LaF points to a spot on the immobilized feline’s neck. “You’ll do fine. Just inject her here. Once the needle’s in, push the plunger quickly.”

Groaning, Laura moves forward and into position as her friend moves back. Perry looks on anxiously and LaFontaine gives her the thumbs up.

The reaction is delayed about 30 seconds, but once it comes, everything moves at lightning speed.

The kitten begins to hyperventilate, strangled sounds forcing their way from her throat as she twitches. Her body twists and bends, growing in fits and starts. Her bones snap loudly, and Danny has to let go, the panther too big to hold safely anymore.

Carmilla yowls and convulses on the ground, reaching full size in less than a minute.

A swirl of black smoke surrounds her quivering body, and when it dissipates, the vampire lies in place of the cat, shaking and naked. She sobs, hands clutching her head as if her brain is trying to escape her skull.

Laura and Danny move forward, the girl with a blanket which she wraps around her clearly terrified girlfriend, pulling her into a sitting position. The wolf insinuates herself into Carmilla’s lap, licking her face and whining.

The vampire clings to Danny, burying her face in her thick red fur, using her free hand to pull Laura closer, allowing the girl to envelope her in a hug.

The three of them stay like that for long minutes, Carmilla crying quietly, Laura and Danny comforting her with their presence.

When she finally stops, taking a deep breath and removing herself from the small circle of protection, she doesn’t even attempt composure. She stands instead, pulling the blanket securely around herself, and turns to glare at LaFontaine.

“You. You let this happen,” the vampire growls, pointing to Danny, who cocks her furry head to the side.

“I definitely did not have anything to do with the goo that made you both internet meme material,” the Bio major says, trying for bravado (the tremble in their voice ruins the effect).

“No, you ginger menace, _that_ ,” Carmilla points harder, if that is possible. “You took what is essentially an infant to one of the most dangerous places on campus!”

If looks could kill, LaFontaine would keel over on the spot.

Perry moves to stand between them, as the scientist opens their mouth to defend themselves. They think better of it though, looking at Danny guiltily.

“I… Yeah, I’m, uh, sorry. If I had known…” They trail off, rubbing at the back of their neck.

“Are you really shocked that she was injured? She can barely walk, you moronic child!”

“How about we deal with the problem at hand, hmm?” Perry asks reasonably, holding out her hands in a placating gesture. “Recriminations can wait until, _after_ , Danny is adult sized and human shaped again.”

Carmilla fumes, ready to argue, her jaw clenched so tight her teeth grind audibly. But with a long look at Perry (much kinder and softer than the daggers she is glaring at LaFontaine), she huffs and waves for them to proceed.

Without hesitation, LaF hands the vampire two large needles. “I’m not sure about the exact dosages, but, this is enough for a 300lbs human.”

“She’s only like, 70lbs!” Laura protests, eyeing the epinephrine with concern.

“She’s a werewolf. She’ll need a much stronger dose,” Carmilla admits grudgingly.

With reluctance, the raven haired girl turns to the wolf, uncapping the injections with her thumbs.

“Sorry gingersnap,” she whispers, voice full of real regret. “This is going to suck.”

She administers the hormone quickly and tosses the empty syringes over her shoulders, moving forward to hold the werewolf from behind. When Laura tries to join her, she shakes her head.

Danny howls at full volume, so loud the ground shakes, until there is no air left in her lungs and she collapses onto the ground. Carmilla holds her close, whispering into her neck that everything will be all right, that she is safe.

The werewolf doesn’t grow so much as explode outward, body almost ripping apart as it doubles, then triples in size.

She jerks violently out of Carmilla’s arms, seizing and stumbling as she tries to rise to her feet.

She smashes into a tree, snapping it like a twig.

She inhales, great sides filling, ballooning outwards, and howls again. The sound is painful – her obvious full blown terror sending chills through the four others in the clearing.

The werewolf sinks back down onto the earth, whimpering, eyes wide and shining with preternatural blue light.

Carmilla approaches, one hand out in front of her.

“It’s okay, Red. You’re okay,” she soothes, fingers curled and almost touching the trembling creature’s nose.

Panting, panicking, Danny backs away, and the vampire follows.

“Danny, stop. You’re going to be f-”

With a snarl, Danny lunges forward, sending Carmilla flying into a tree and taking off further into the woods.

The vampire thumps down onto the ground, and the tree cracks and sways, but doesn’t fall.

“Oh my god, are you okay?!” Laura cries, rushing over to her dazed girlfriend.

Carmilla nods and coughs, rubbing at her lower back and allowing the smaller girl to pull her close.

“Well,” LaFontaine sighs. “That went roughly as expected.”

“We have to go after her!” Laura says, but Carmilla shakes her head. “But, we can’t just leave her! What if she gets hurt? Or if someone finds her and she freaks out?” The Journalism major is beside herself.

“She won’t, and she wouldn’t,” Carmilla assures, holding the girl against her and cradling her cheek with one hand. “She’s back, I saw it in her eyes. She just… she needs time.”

A long, mournful howl echoes through the forest, and they all shiver.


	5. A QUIET MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a long suffering sigh, the vampire tosses the blankets aside and climbs on top of the Summer girl, straddling her hips and pressing herself along the length of her body like a cat annoyed at being ignored. Danny’s arms reach out and pull her closer, the werewolf rolling them over so that she can cuddle the smaller girl like a teddy bear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last 2 weeks have been muy busy. This was originally part of a larger chapter, but I thought I would just post is on its own, since it has been a bit between posts, and the next bit is not finished just yet. 
> 
> This is coming to a close soon (maybe 1 or 2 more chapters). It's been a fun distraction from things. Maybe I will come back and play in this little pocket universe in the future...

Video feed begins.

 

_Early morning sunlight streams through the window of dorm room 307, illuminating a large lump in the middle of Laura’s bed, covered completely in her blankets. The door creaks open slowly, and in slinks an exhausted-looking Carmilla._

_Closing the door behind herself, the vampire trudges to the center of the room. She looks back and forth between Laura’s bed and her own, before shrugging and letting out a long suffering sigh and poking at the clearly unconscious figure._

_The lump mutters something vaguely surly._

_“You told me to wake you when I got back,” Carmilla says, leaning over and trying to prod the lump towards the edge of the bed. “You’re lucky I’m bothering with you at all.”_

_“Hmmmnnoooooo,” the enshrouded girl groans, rolling over and away from the assault._

_The blankets are displaced to reveal a still unconscious Danny, who settles down again and lets out a little snore._

_Carmilla chuckles lightly and yanks away all the blankets, outright laughing when Danny whines and covers her face with her arm._

_“You sound like the cupcake right now, Groot,” she teases, using the edge of the sheet to tickle the tall girl’s knee._

_Danny does not deign to respond._

_With a long suffering sigh, the vampire tosses the blankets aside and climbs on top of the Summer girl, straddling her hips and pressing herself along the length of her body like a cat annoyed at being ignored. Danny’s arms reach out and pull her closer, the werewolf rolling them over so that she can cuddle the smaller girl like a teddy bear._

_“What are you-”_

_“Ssssshhhh,” Danny murmurs, snuggling into Carmilla’s hair._

[Laura looks over at Carmilla in amused disbelief. The vampire merely raises an eyebrow and sips at her cup of blood haughtily.]

 _Grumbling, Carmilla_ [softly] _bites Danny’s arm. The redhead’s eyes fly open and she seems to notice for the first time just who it is she has in her arms._

_With a squawk the tall girl pulls away violently, and the only thing that keeps her from tumbling off the edge of the bed is the vampire’s arm, which wraps around her waist and holds her in place._

_“Sorry! I just thought, I – where did Laura go?” Danny stammers, cheeks flaming red._

_Carmilla smirks now, arm still firmly in place. “I have no idea, carrot cake. I just got here.”_

_“Right, well uh, thanks. For waking me up, I mean. I wasn’t sure if you would. I’ll just, uh, yeah, go…” the Danny trails off, clearly embarrassed._

_“What’s the rush?” Carmilla asks, pressing closer, voice a low purr._

[She is clearly enjoying making the taller girl squirm.]

_“Carmilla…” Danny tries to sit up, but the vampire doesn’t relinquish her hold._

_“Yes?” Carmilla hums, flashing fang. She moves in, curling into Danny’s body._

_“What are you doing?”_

_“Getting warm. If you are going to insist on taking up so much space, you might as well make yourself useful.”_

_“I, you… uh…” Danny’s face is fire engine red._

[Laura is pretty sure every drop of blood in the tall girl's body has migrated to her cheeks.]

_"So articulate, I can definitely tell you’re a Lit major.”_

_“Shut up, it’s like 6am.”_

_“Mmmhmmm. Excellent excuse coming from a girl who jogs every morning before the sun comes up.”_

_The vampire nuzzles the girl’s neck._

_“Carm… don’t.”_ [Danny sounds pained.]

_“Not what you said last week, gingersnap,” Carmilla says, but she stops and leans away._

[Laura pauses the video, head tilting to the side as she looks at Carmilla. The vampire gazes back, face impassive.

“We’re talking about this later,” the Journalism major says, resolute but not unkind.

Carmilla shrugs. “Nothing to talk about, cutie.”

Laura reaches out and squeezes her girlfriend’s free hand.

“We’re talking about this because clearly something happened between you two, and whatever it was, was important. I care too much about both of you to let you hide from yourselves or from me.”

Carmilla opens her mouth to respond, but Laura turns back to the computer and starts the feed again.]

_Danny turns away and sits up, feet planted squarely on the floor. Her expression is partially ashamed and partially nostalgic. “It shouldn’t have happened… not like that.” Carmilla frowns and sits up behind her, but the Summer girl pays no mind. “I’m sorry I did that. To you.” Danny curls in her shoulders, as if she is trying to shrink or disappear._

_Carmilla snorts and rolls her eyes._

_“This is not one of those things where you play the martyr just because we had unplanned sex.”_

_Danny flinches violently, guilt contorting her face. “I shouldn’t have lost control.”_

_Carmilla’s head rocks back in a moment of honest, unguarded surprise._

_“Seriously? Are you… wait, are you freaking out because we got a little rough, or because it happened at all?”_

_Danny doesn’t answer, standing instead and moving towards the bathroom._

_“Red?”_

_“I need to get to training. It’s my turn to lead.”_

_“Danny Lawrence, do not walk away right now.”_

[Danny has never been so evasive, and Carmilla – the mistress of avoidance – never so direct. It is surreal for Laura to watch.]

_The tall girl pauses, facing away from Carmilla, biting her lower lip and frowning._

_“Look, if you’re feeling regret then it won’t happen again. But don’t you act for a second like I was anything but completely willing.”_

_“That’s not what I mean,” Danny huffs, annoyed. “I’m not_ opposed _to, uh, being with you. Just that I… I don’t like that I hurt you.”_

_Carmilla rolls her eyes. “You didn’t hurt me, you big red fool. Vampire, remember? Super-human strength and stamina ring any bells?”_

_“You were bruised for days, Carmilla. And don’t think I didn’t notice you wince whenever Laura hugged you the day after.”_

_Carmilla shrugs, smiling lecherously, and although Danny still has her back turned to the vampire, she rolls her eyes as if she can see her expression._

_“Temporary badges of honor, gingersnap.”_

_The werewolf whips around, face contorted in a mix of fear and anger._

_“You may be a vampire, but you can still get hurt! You can still_ die _…”_

_“Danny…” Carmilla breathes out, startled. She seems too stunned to be amused. “Are you.. are you actually scared that you’ll do me permanent damage?”_

_Danny looks away again, shrugging._

_The vampire is on her feet in an instant, hand around the taller girl’s throat and lifting her off the ground. The werewolf glares down at her but doesn’t struggle or fight back – a testament to how far they’ve come._

_“You may be the big, bad wolf little girl, but I’m the reason people fear the dark.”_

_Carmilla releases the Summer girl, who coughs and rubs at her neck._

_“Asshole vampire,” the redhead grumbles, clearly unhurt._

_“Interesting that you trust me at_ your _throat, but you don’t trust yourself at_ mine _. I don’t know whether to be insulted or impressed with your ability to delude yourself.”_

_Straightening out, Danny looks at the wall above Carmilla’s head._

_“It’s different.”_

_“It’s really not, beanpole.”_

_“I just… can we let this go?”_

[Danny doesn’t whine, exactly, but she is close. It’s supremely unlike her, and Laura wishes she could reach out and hug her.]

_Carmilla narrows her eyes for a moment before shrugging._

_“Whatever you want Red,” she steps back and flops onto Laura’s bed. “If you don’t want to be – what did you call it again? naked-sweaty-intimate – with me, that’s fine.”_

_“Carm…”_ [Now Danny _does_ whine, and it is adorably out of character.] _“It’s not that…”_

 _“Aren’t you late for something?” the vampire dismisses_ [her teasing grin takes the edge off] _._

_Danny looks torn, glancing back and forth several times between the dark haired girl reclining lazily on the bed, and the bathroom door. Taking a deep breath, she rolls her eyes, seeming to come to a decision._

_Reaching out, the Summer girl grabs the front of Carmilla’s shirt, hauling her up and close, just shy of kissing distance. Carmilla tries to close the space between them, but Danny leans her head away. The vampire huffs, annoyed._

_“It’s not you, okay?” Danny says firmly. “I just need…”_

_“Control. I got it, carrot cake. Girl’s like you so often do.” Carmilla goes, not so much limp as relaxed, batting her eyelashes at the tall girl and smiling a bit smugly. “You go ahead and take all the time you-”_

_The werewolf moves in, kissing the vampire soundly for long moments, before pulling back._

_“…need.”_

[Laura giggles at the soft, breathy tone; Carmilla sips her blood, pointedly ignoring her.]

_Smirking, Danny lets the other girl go._

_Carmilla bounces once on the bed, blinking rapidly but chuckling. “Tell no one.”_

_Danny inclines her head once, smile turning gentle and a little unsure. “We good?”_

_“Maybe. If you kiss me like that more often. Preferably as a prelude to more, hmm,_ vigorous _activity,” Carmilla replies, flashing her fangs suggestively._

_With a laugh, the redhead moves away, gathering some clothes from a small folded pile on top of Carmilla’s dresser and making her way into the bathroom. Carmilla stays where she is, staring up at the ceiling._

_The shower starts up._

_Carmilla lets out an amused breath and runs her fingers through her hair._

_Looking over at Laura’s desk, the vampire seems to notice that the camera is recording for the first time. With a scowl she stands up and stabs at the keys._

_“Bloody Panopticon.”_

 

Video feed ends.


	6. WAKING UP (AGAIN)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Later they lie, side by side, breathless (well, Laura is breathless, Carmilla is almost purring with contentment). Twisting in Carmilla’s arms so that she can see her face, Laura runs her fingers along the vampire’s arm, fascinated by the fact that her undead lover doesn’t get goosebumps. Carmilla smiles, a bit of serene joy softening her face.
> 
> “Will you tell me what happened between you two now?” Laura asks quietly. Carmilla tenses, expression going blank. “You-you don’t have to, if you really don’t want to. It’s just, I hate seeing you like this.”
> 
> “Like what, cream puff?” the vampire asks, and she sounds almost like she did at the beginning of last semester, when they were strangers and her life’s goal seemed to be to annoy the Journalism major.
> 
> “Like you’re fighting with your best friend.”
> 
> ////
> 
> Some Hollstein conversatin'. (More fluff and Danny next chapter, I promise!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See previous chapters for notes.

Laura holds Carmilla close, laying kisses on the older girl’s forehead and on her hair, and the vampire lets her (pretending that, despite how she leans in and sighs, she could take it or leave it).

“So…”

“So.”

“What was it like?” Laura asks, practically wiggling with curiosity.

“Which part? The part where I was trapped as a tiny fuzzball, or the part where you and the remainder of the ginger squad decided the best course of action was to induce the mother of all panic attacks?”

“Uh… all of it?” Laura replies, and it sounds a lot like _I’m sorry_.

Carmilla smiles, toying with the younger girl’s fingers. “Strange. I was me, but also completely different. I didn’t really remember anything about my life in particular, but I felt things… had impressions. Like I knew that I adored you, and that I wasn’t all that keen on Agent Orange.”

“You looked pretty keen on her when she got hurt,” Laura reminds, poking the vampire’s side gently. Carmilla grunts but doesn’t shy away.

“It’s like I remembered that I maybe didn’t hate her when she came back all… well bloody and limping. But before that I knew I was beyond annoyed at her.”

“She seemed plenty keen on _you_.”

“She is the one that freaked out, so I imagine she was feeling guilty and wanting to get back on my good side. Jolly Red was just too much of an idiot to realize I don’t _have_ a good side.”

“One hundred percent not true,” Laura murmurs, kissing her girlfriend’s head. "You are mostly good side."

“Well regardless,” Carmilla says, rolling her eyes but settling into the contact, “she clearly felt remorseful.”

There is a long pause, wherein Laura waits patiently for Carmilla to continue – to tell her the story – and Carmilla steadfastedly refuses to acknowledge the expectant silence. She is an expert in waiting out unpleasant things.

“Carm, we have to talk about this,” Laura says finally, sitting up after a solid five minutes of nothing and taking her girlfriend with her.

“Do we?” Carmilla grumbles, shifting around so that she straddles the smaller girl’s lap. “Can’t we just enjoy the fact that I’m not a tiny, furry creature anymore?”

“Carm…” Laura isn’t whining exactly, but her voice is neither firm nor authoritative.

“Laaaura,” Carmilla hums back, trailing kisses along her girlfriend’s throat.

Laura groans, in no way immune, and let’s Carmilla distract her.

 

////

 

Later they lie, side by side, breathless (well, Laura is breathless, Carmilla is almost purring with contentment). Twisting in Carmilla’s arms so that she can see her face, Laura runs her fingers along the vampire’s arm, fascinated by the fact that her undead lover doesn’t get goosebumps. Carmilla smiles, a bit of serene joy softening her face.

“Will you tell me what happened between you two now?” Laura asks quietly. Carmilla tenses, expression going blank.  “You-you don’t have to, if you really don’t want to. It’s just, I hate seeing you like this.”

“Like what, cream puff?” the vampire asks, and she sounds almost like she did at the beginning of last semester, when they were strangers and her life’s goal seemed to be to annoy the Journalism major.

“Like you’re fighting with your best friend.”

That gives the dark haired girl pause, which she covers by wrapping the discarded sheets around both of them (she knows how much Laura hates to be cold).

“You’re my best friend, cutie,” she says after a few moments, and she clearly means it.

Laura turns her head and gives her girlfriend a crooked smile. “I know that, Carm, but you and Danny… You’ve become closer lately. Since we started dating, obviously, but really since she brought you back .”

“I’ve stopped wanting to see her dead at my feet, if that’s what you mean,” Carmilla allows wryly.

“It’s not, and you know it. You lent Danny a first edition book from the collection you keep in your lockbox. Which _I_ didn’t know _existed_ before you went through it to get it for her!”

Carmilla shrugs. “I lent the ginger moppet my signed hardcover Slaughterhouse 5. That doesn’t make us best friends.”

“I would argue that it does,” Laura disagrees, bumping Carmilla’s shoulder with her own. “But your reluctance to admit you’ve actually bonded with dirty humans aside, this is different and you know it. Even if I hadn’t seen the videos-”

“Gotta love living under Big Brother,” the vampire grumbles to herself.

“Which, to be fair to me, I mostly didn’t know were being recorded at the time. But I mean, it’s obvious to anyone with eyes – and probably without eyes – that the two of your are kinda, you know… fond of each other.”

The way Laura hesitates is both precious and irritating.  

“Fond and close are two different things, cupcake.”

Laura sighs, a little sad and a lot frustrated, but still determined. She plays with the ends of Carmilla’s hair.

“It’s been worse between you two in the last two weeks. Worse than it was before. And I just… the way things are going, this can’t sustain itself.”

Carmilla stiffens next to her, not breathing in that way that reminds Laura of how different they are, and Laura doesn’t have the nerve to both look at her girlfriend and say what she needs to say.

“Cream puff, I-”

“No, look, I’m not saying this right, okay. I’m not giving you an ultimatum or something – get along or else, ya know? And, I get it. Between both of your abandonment issues, her hero complex, and your need to keep everyone an emotional mile away, there is bound to be friction.” Laura huffs impatiently, laying a kiss against Carmilla’s cool skin unconsciously that goes a long way towards her lowering her guard. “But this, what’s going on between you two right now? This is something else. And if we’re going to work – not just pretend, but really work together, all of us – then we are going to have to be open and honest with each other.”

The Journalism major cringes a bit, daring a look at the vampire after almost a full minute of silence. Carmilla’s expression is equal parts annoyed, impressed, and adoring.

“Well aren’t you just the cutest little bull in the china shop?”

Laura rolls her eyes, relieved. “You may have eternity to work on your issues, but some of us are on a much shorter time table.”

Regret and a flash of real fear briefly enter Carmilla’s eyes, but they both ignore it for now. That is a conversation for another day – years from now.

The vampire sighs, pulling Laura closer. She can never really deny the girl anything.

“What do you want to know?”

“Whatever you can tell me. Seeing you both like this, so hurt and clearly frustrated, it’s been awful. Even if I wasn’t dating either of you, it would be painful to watch.”

“It helps that it interferes with your little happily ever after.” Carmilla’s voice is mostly arch, and only a little bit bitter.

Laura sits up and out of the circle of Carmilla’s arms.

“If you don’t want this, then you have to tell me. If you’re just doing this to humor me, or because you think it's the only way you can be with me, then it won’t work. I will remind you, though, that it was _your_ idea.”

Laura’s voice isn’t cold exactly, but there is a hardness to it that Carmilla has never heard before.

“You… were miserable without her, Laura,” Carmilla says softly, part of her guilty for thinking just that, and part of her remembering the somber looks Laura would give her cellphone when Danny wasn’t returning her texts.

“Carmilla, Danny is one of my best friends – one of my favorite people in the whole world. I… Right now I can’t imagine not being with her, just like I can’t imagine not being with you. You both make me so happy, sometimes it hurts my heart. But I would rather be alone and miserable, than use either of you that selfishly.”

The younger girl’s tone has a finality to it that makes Carmilla blink rapidly against tears.

Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Carmilla nods, properly chastised.

“The walking redwood and I… may have become physical with each other,” she admists, tugging her girlfriend back down to lay beside her.

“Well that’s pretty obvious, but thank you,” Laura teases, hoping to take the edge off the moment. It works a bit, and Carmilla snorts. “She’s still wound pretty tight, but she’s been way more relaxed lately, and that’s partially thanks to you.”

“I know that it frustrates you when the ginger giant is careful with you, especially… intimately.” Carmilla is uncharacteristically hestitant.

“You can say sex, you know. If I’m grown up enough to have it, I’m damn well grown up enough to talk about it.”

The vampire chuckles through her nose.

“It’s not just the sex she tiptoes around, cupcake, or haven’t you noticed?”

Laura makes a face.

"I get it. She’s freaked out that she might lose it and hurt me or turn me into a werewolf. But according to my research, that last thing isn’t really likely. And I know that she would never hurt me, on purpose anyway, not matter how pissed or excitable she gets.”

“She knows that too, she’s just a bull headed idiot. Her irritating white knight syndrome trumps whatever knowledge she’s managed to retain through all the head trauma. Like you said, it’s pretty clear that Red has control issues.”

“What with the whole treating me like I am made a glass, and constantly trying to protect us.”

“Not so much us, but yeah, that.”

“Right. So it _wasn’t_ you Danny pushed behind her last week when the statutes came to life on the west lawn and went on a rampage?”

“The pup forgets that I’ve been dealing with Silas weirdness longer than she’s been alive to scratch at her fleas.”

Laura touches Carmilla’s cheek, smiling softly. “She can’t hear you, you know? You don’t have to pretend that you hate her with me.”

“She understands that I don’t hate her,” Carmilla mutters, a little embarrassed.

“Does she? Because we have already established – and she would totally agree – that her neurosis gets in the way of her knowledge sometimes. And, you’d be a liar if you pretended that it’s not obvious that for all the huffing and puffing, her self-esteem is not nearly as big or strong as she is.”

Carmilla opens her mouth to reply, then closes it again, frowning and sighing. When she speaks, it is quieter, seeming more thoughtful.

“It’s… different between me and her. Different than between you and me, or the two of you.”

“Well duh, thank you Captain Obvious,” Laura says, rolling her eyes but tugging on Carmilla’s curls and smiling at her affectionately. “I just meant-”

“I know what you meant, cutie. It’s just, difficult.”

Laura nods, running a finger tip over her girlfriend’s jaw. “It’s harder to break a bad habit than to learn a good one,” she notes, and the vampire can’t help but smile.

“Pretty wise for someone who couldn’t tie her own shoes at the turn of the millenium.”

“For your information, I’ve been tying my own shoes since I was two, thank you very much!”

"Of course you have, cupcake. My Lois Lane Jr. is a prodigy.”

“And _you_ are a total jerkface, Vampirella.”

Laura sticks out her tongue.

“Careful, cutie. Put that away unless you plan to use it.”

“If you think I’m gonna be distracted by your clichés and terrible insinuations, you are sorely mistaken.”

“I’m not _insinuating_ anything, sweetheart. I’m _promising_.”

“Carm…”

The vampire smirks but nods, relenting.

“What happened between you two? After the whole sleeping together thing?”

“To be fair, there wasn’t much sleeping happening.” Carmilla is almost cartoonishly lecherous, but it is made worse (better? cuter?) by the fact that she is completely sincere.

Laura blushes, rolling her eyes. “Carm!”

“What? Don’t want to hear all the sweaty details? Doesn’t do it for you? Because it would for me…”

“I never kiss and tell, and I’d bet Danny would appreciate it if you didn’t either. And before you ask, yes, this is different. I’m just asking for… you’re perspective on what happened, okay?

Frowning, Carmilla pulls away to lie on her back, one arm behind her head, the other fiddling with the sheets. Laura allows her the space, wanting to reach out and touch her for comfort but knowing better instinctively.

“If you can’t, I won’t push you. You just… you seem like you could use someone to talk to. And seeing as you said I’m your best friend, well…”

Carmilla swallows hard, eyes becoming distant.

“Admitting when I’ve done wrong or made a mistake is hard for me. Regrets make eternity rather hard to bear.”

“I can’t even begin to know.”

Carmilla smiles faintly, reaching out with her free hand without looking and tangling their fingers together.

“The carrot cake may have…” the vampire stops and sighs, then starts again. “Danny was, well, vulnerable with me. In public. It took me off guard and made me uncomfortable – we’ve never been like that with each other. She’s usually all ‘I’m warrior woman, hear me roar’ and I may not be the best at letting people in. I reacted…”

“Poorly?”

“That’s a nice way to put it, cream puff.”

“Tell me.”

Nodding and taking a deep breath, Carmilla does just that…

 

_tbc..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. One more and this puppy (puppy-kitty?) is done!
> 
> Split the chapter in 2 again, partially to update sooner and partially because it was a nice break point.


	7. I THINK I'LL KEEP YOU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s… what’s so wrong with the idea that I could care about you?” the redhead asked, frowning, her body tense, as if expecting a blow.
> 
> Danny’s words echoed on the inside of Carmilla’s skull, knocking their way around until she couldn’t remember that there was no danger to them. She covered the fear with snark.
> 
> “Love, love? Even more than your very favorite chew toy?”
> 
> She knew it was too far before the sentence finished leaving her mouth, but it was too late.
> 
> ////
> 
> In which Carmilla fesses up to her missteps, Danny is angry, and there is a picnic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See previous chapters for disclaimers n such.
> 
> AN1: I didn't edit this at all. I know I should have, but then I wouldn't post until Wednesday, and this needs to be safely off my hard drive.

_She had waited for the ginger giant to get out of class patiently (considering her nature), lounging casually under the shade of a weeping willow tree (the only one around for miles, standing stubbornly on the edge of the academic quad). Sipping from a to go cup of warm blood, Carmilla had toyed with the brown paper bag she held in her lap absently. It was a chilly spring morning, and she was done with classes for the week (not that she cared about them anymore, but it was nice not to have to pretend)._

_The vampire had spotted the tall girl trudging out of the far academic building which housed most of the English, communications, and ancient dark arts classes, and couldn’t help but chuckle. Danny was surrounded by a gaggle of freshmen, all vying for her attention (all earnest questions and doe eyes), and the werewolf looked physically pained – as if the younger students had been working her last nerve and stepping on her actual toes._

_It reminded Carmilla of nature documentaries where tiny wolf cubs all pile on top of the big alpha, biting at her ears and generally making themselves a nuisance. The raven haired girl would never admit it, but she felt a deep pang of affection at the idea, and, it was certainly the most adorable she remembered finding her co-girlfriend._

_As if alerted by Carmilla’s secret (not-so-secret) slightly-maybe-tender feelings, Danny’s eyes snapped up, searching until they rested on the smaller girl, who tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow._

_“Yes, right, all good questions. My office hours are Fridays from 11am to 1pm. We can discuss any issues then, otherwise, see you on class on Tuesday,” the TA assured her brood of yipping students, practically running across the quad to get away._

_She was in front of Carmilla quicker than was strictly human._

_“You, hello, yes, hi, please tell me you are here with backup!” Danny greeted, eyes a little frantic._

_Carmilla stretched lazily, slowly rising to her feet._

_“Quite the group of admirers you’ve got there, Xena.”_

_The redhead glanced back at the still assembled, and slowly advancing, students. “There is a good chance they might kidnap me and torture me over the weekend with questions about the final paper…” she said, eyes comically wide. “Not good.”_

_“Can’t have that,” Carmilla agreed, offering up the paper bag and moving closer, insinuating herself against Danny’s side so she could wrap an arm around the taller girl’s waist and smirk in an over-the-top possessive manner._

_The students looked disappointed, and Carmilla smiled, winking at Danny when the redhead mouthed ‘thank you.’_

_Distracted a bit by the vampire’s proximity (but going with it, because the freshman had stopped creeping up on them, and she clearly needed a reprieve), Danny opened the bag to reveal a banana and small carton of orange juice. Pulling out the banana (and inhaling it with barely a pause to peel the fruit), the Summer girl looked at her co-girlfriend in surprise._

_“It’s Thursday,” Carmilla offered, shrugging. “You never have time for lunch on Thursdays. And I’m not keen on dragging you to Student Health if you collapse from low blood sugar.”_

_It was a joke, except that with Danny’s heightened metabolism (weird werewolf things that annoyed Carmilla to no end), it was closer to the truth then the vampire was comfortable with. And since she had noticed that the big red idiot had run out of her protein bars and V8 (disgusting), well…_

_“I think I’ll keep you,” Danny said, smiling softly down at the dark haired girl._

_Something about the other girl’s tone made Carmilla tense and cagey, and she pulled away to stand in front of her._

_“Oh yeah?” the vampire asked, going for amused disdain and landing somewhere in incredulity (close enough for horseshoes)._

_This was too familiar for Carmilla’s liking._

_They hadn’t spoken about the change in their relationship since becoming lovers – really, they had never spoken about their relationship to each other at all. Mostly they pretended that they only associated with each other for Laura’s sake, though that hadn’t been the case for some time._

_They were complicated, which the vampire hated, and there were times when Carmilla found herself watching the other girl and… well, whatever she did, she loathed that it happened._

_Danny raised an eyebrow. “Despite your complete inability to pick up after yourself and your flagrant disregard for the social graces, I am starting to look forward to seeing your face, yeah,” she tried to make light and reached out to bump Carmilla’s fingers with the back of her hand._

_The vampire bristled, panicking and covering it with a sardonic smile (she wanted to sneer but it was as much as she could manage)._

_“On a scale of chasing your own tail to fetch, where do I fall, hmm?”_

_Carmilla could tell she took the werewolf off guard. Joking about her_ condition _was something she hadn’t really done since they’d agreed on a real truce, and while this was not as nasty as she could get, Carmilla knew she was pushing it._

_A part of her really wanted to stop, to go back to a minute ago when she was teasing the taller girl about her appetite and absorbing the warmth of her body. It made her worlds more uncomfortable that she would even want that than anything Danny could say._

_Danny frowned, rolling her eyes and forcing herself to relax in an obvious attempt to let it go._

_“You’re hilarious, dead girl,” she said flatly._

_“I know,” Carmilla preened, wincing inwardly._

_“And so humble.”_

_“Full package,” the vampire agreed, sipping at her blood. “A prize catch.”_

_“Clearly. It’s no wonder I love you.”_

_They both froze for a moment, but the Summer girl recovered quicker. Thrusting her chin out defiantly, her eyes dared Carmilla to say something._

_Carmilla couldn’t help herself. She laughed – hard and sudden, and it was as unexpected as the other girl’s clumsy declaration._

_“You love me?” she asked, slowly, as if talking to an idiot child._

_“You heard what I said. By accident, for sure, but I don’t take it back.”_

_Carmilla wanted to respond coherently, she really did. But the idea of Danny Lawrence – the girl who actively campaigned for her death (beheading, staking, emulation), who had carried a stake around in her bag long after they had called a truce for Laura’s sake – the idea of_ that girl _confessing poetry feelings for her was absurd. The fact that she knew immediately that the werewolf was telling the truth was inconsequential; the words were so outrageous, they were practically farce._

_“What’s… what’s so wrong with the idea that I could care about you?” the redhead asked, frowning, body tense as if expecting a blow._

_Danny’s words echoed on the inside of Carmilla’s skull, knocking their way around until she couldn’t remember that there was no danger to them. She covered the fear with snark._

_“Love, love? Even more than your very favorite chew toy?”_

_She knew it was too far before the sentence finished leaving her mouth, but it was too late._

_Danny’s eyes flashed briefly, bright blue, and her jaw clenched. Before she could respond, one of the freshmen – a boy with soft brown curls and big green eyes, barely out of diapers – approached, mistaking Carmilla’s laughter for a friendly atmosphere._

_“Uh, sorry to bother you Teach…”_

_“Danny,” the redhead corrected automatically, as if she was used to being greeted that way._

_“Right, uh, Danny… So, um, I was wondering, about the paper...”_

_“Now’s not a good time,” Danny managed through her teeth, so bad at hiding her emotions but visibly trying to hold it together._

_"Oh, um, ok. Sorry?”_

_“Yes, run along now_ bro-heem _. You’ve interrupted the absolute_ sweetest _declaration of love I’ve gotten in decades.”_

_Carmilla actually did want to stop, but she couldn’t seem to find the off button to her own mouth. Even she wouldn’t have thought she was capable of being so cruel._

_Something in Danny’s face closed down then in a way that the vampire had never seen before, even when they were at their worst. It was like a gate slamming shut, and Carmilla winced, forced to consider that she may not be able to smooth this over with a few jokes and a charming smile or batting her eyelashes at her (former?) lover._

_The boy frowned, and Carmilla could smell the smoke of his brain trying to process what was going on._

_“I-”_

_“My office hours are from 11am to 1pm tomorrow, like I said. Feel free to drop by.”_

_Danny shoved the crumpled paper bag (still containing the carton of orange juice) into his arms, a little roughly if his quiet ‘oof’ was anything to go by._

_“Here, you look pale. Have some vitamin C. See you tomorrow.”_

_The tall girl turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving the confused freshman and a (internally) cringing Carmilla in her wake._

_“Danny, wait,” the vampire called, groaning when the Summer girl only sped up._

_With a sigh, the dark haired girl started after her._

_“Slow down, Xena.”_

_Nothing._

_“It was a joke, ginger snap. You caught me off guard.”_

_Still nothing._

_She used her vampire speed (she gave absolutely zeros shits if she startled the sensitive little humans) and touched Danny’s elbow as it swung back._

_The werewolf whipped around, eyes wide and hurt, nostrils flaring._

_Guilt flooded through the shorter girl’s body, making her feel defensive._

_“Glad to know your first reaction to my feelings is to treat me like a joke.”_

_Carmilla huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s not really like that, and you know it.”_

_“What I_ know _, Carmilla, is that you are the biggest asshole I’ve ever met – and that’s saying a lot, because I regularly have to deal with the Zetas.”_

_“Well that’s a bit harsh, bean stalk,” Carmilla grumbles, rolling her eyes, mistaking the almost joke for a sign that things were going to blow over easily._

_Apparently it was not meant to be._

_Shaking her head, Danny turned again and continued her angry march towards the dorms._

_“Oh come on, Red. Do you know how ridiculous we are right now – you, practically running, me chasing. People will talk.”_

_“I can’t even look at you right now.”_

_Something snapped inside the vampire, then. It was probably the 18 year old Countess, who was usually buried deep, but sometimes – when Carmilla was being ignored or defensive, for example - came out with a haughty, bitchy vengence._

_“You are acting like a child, Lawrence. I was_ joking _. And really, what did you expect, blurting it out like that? Did you expect me to swoon?”_

_Danny ignored her, reaching the door to the building and yanking it open roughly._

_“As for your declarations of love, not the best I’ve gotten gingersnap.”_

_Carmilla blinked hard and shook her head at herself, disbelieving. It was like she has some sort of Tourettes where, instead of cursing or yelling she said the exact wrong thing that would only hurt the other girl._

_Danny stopped, body becoming impossibly tenser. She didn’t turn around, just turned her head so that Carmilla could see her chin tremble once._

_“Because it’s me, right?”_

_“No, Danny…” Carmilla sighed, annoyed at herself for making the situation worse, and at Danny for being upset in the first place. “Can we just… stop and talk about this?” She almost chokes on the words._

_“Nothing to talk about. I love you, you are an asshole, you will always be an asshole. Conversation over.”_

_A little part of Carmilla felt what could have been called relief that the redhead still hadn’t taken it back. Not that she wanted any such words between them (there would probably never be a time where Mother’s voice wouldn’t hiss in her ear that love is weakness), but it might mean that maybe she could fix it so that she wouldn’t smell the heartbreak coming off the tall girl in waves._

_She opened her mouth to say her least favorite phrase: I’m sorry._

_“From love to name calling? Real mature, bean sprout.”_

_It was a disease. It had to be physical or pathological. She literally could not help herself when it came to Danny._

_The werewolf growled and stalked further up the hall, past Perry’s door, pausing in front of 307 only long enough to rip the door open (not bothering to check if it was locked)._

_Carmilla meandered behind, taking a deep breath._

_  
_

////

 

“You know the rest,” the vampire finishes her story, sighing and unable to meet her girlfriend’s eyes.

“For a centuries old noble, you can be _extremely_ childish and the opposite of subtle,” Laura drawls, but squeezes Carmilla’s hand in support.

“It’s been said,” Carmilla agrees.

“You remind me of little boys on the play ground, pulling girl’s pigtails and pushing them over because they like them,” Laura continues, gently teasing, accepting this odd turn of events with a weird sort of grace.

“They say that your first reaction is your honest one, but that’s wrong. Your first response… it’s the one that you’ve been trained to have – conditioned. I’ve learned to defend myself against those kinds of feelings.”

“Ell?”

“And others. Love is weakness.” She can feel Maman’s cool breath sliding over her face, over the contours of her ear. “Weakness like that, it means torture, suffering. Death if you’re lucky. It means only pain.”

“And yet you love me,” Laura says, oh so reasonable.

“I do,” Carmilla confirms, then stops, shocked. “Well, aren’t you clever?”

They have not talked about this, at least not out loud. She tries to show the girl in a million ways that are all her own, but saying it – admitting to such weakness – is so much different.

“She cried, you know,” Laura continues, moving closer and laying her head on Carmilla’s shoulder. “I went over when she didn’t come home, and she was… I’ve never seen her like that.”

She isn’t being cruel, or judging, but Carmilla is deeply shamed.

“I know. I, when you came back, I could smell her tears on you.”

“Is that why you asked me to shower?”

“Yes.”

Carmilla feels a little hollow, her shame and need to protect herself from it warring with her genuine desire to make things better.

Laura sighs, hugging the vampire close.

“Maybe love is scary, but that only makes feeling it – living it – more brave.”

“Are you calling me a coward?”the vampire asks, but she is more amused than annoyed.

“No. You love – clearly, just as strongly as anyone else I’ve ever met,” Laura says, resolute. “What I am saying is that maybe you should trust us to be brave. I know that not everyone has been, when it comes to you. But, it’s not really fair that you hold them against us.”

“Cupcake, I-”

“Just let us do the thing where we all get to try and be happy together. We’re not going to run away, okay? We went into this knowing the score.”

“Were you not listening to the story, cream puff? I loathe to admit my mistakes, but I don’t think the option’s on the table anymore.”

“For someone with century’s worth of experience, you can be really clueless,” a new voice (not at all new, but definitely unexpected), reserved, comes from the front of the room.

Carmilla’s head snaps back and she is a little horrified that she hadn’t heard Danny approach or open the door.

The werewolf moves into the room, shutting and locking the door behind her before making her way over to the bed. She looms over them, expression hard.

Without a word, Laura sits up, mindless of her nudity, and scoots over, pulling the vampire with her.

Danny sits, turning her back to them and removing her shoes, before resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

“You _still_ haven’t apologized. You know that, don’t you?”

Carmilla watches, detached and fascinated, as her own hand reaches out and rests on the redhead’s back. "I... I know." Danny stiffens but doesn’t pull away.

“I am still ridiculously angry with you,” Danny says, voice shaking a bit. She swallows hard, throat clicking in a way that sounds painful.

“Danny…” Carmilla trails off, truly afraid that whatever comes out of her mouth will only ruin this.

“That doesn’t change how I feel, you stupid vampire.” Danny turns her body so that they can look at each other. “That’s not how love works. But, I get to be upset with you, damn it. I get to be upset and you have to let me. You don’t get to be a dick to me about it, and you don’t get to guilt me out of it.”

“That’s fair,” Carmilla manages, throat tight, nodding and moving her hand so that it comes to rest against the taller girl’s hip.

“We’re both bad at this,” Danny allows, reaching out and resting her hand on Carmilla’s stomach above the sheets. “We should probably work on being better.”

Carmilla nods, sincerely glad but desperately hoping Danny doesn’t use the ‘L’ word again, and that she isn’t expected to either. This is as much as she thinks she can handle gracefully right now.

Danny seems to be on the same page. She turns her attention to Laura, smiling softly.

“Hi Hollis.”

“Hey Lawrence.”

“How’re you doing?”

“Kinda overwhelmed, with the whole my girlfriends being turned into animals and all. We missed you last night. We were worried.”

“I’m sorry, I needed… space. It was a lot.”

“Yeah. I just, you know I worry. You sounded so scared. And you were hurt… But, you’re here now, so…” Laura’s eyes are shiny, but she is doing a good job of keeping calm, sensing that tears might shame her girlfriend.

“I am,” Danny confirms.

The two girls look at each other for a long moment, before the werewolf nods and opens her arms.

Carefully (but quickly) Laura, climbs over Carmilla and into the redhead’s lap, burying herself in her embrace. She sniffles once but manages to cut it off, breathing in the scent of her lover instead and letting it calm her.

They are tangled in each other’s arms for what seems like an eternity, and Carmilla finds herself filled to the brim with warring feelings of relief and envy.

Before she can get too salty, Danny reaches out and draws her in, warming her up.

“You owe me another favorite shirt, Morticia,” the werewolf murmurs, but her tone is fond.

Carmilla chuckles but doesn’t respond, squirming (absolutely _not_ snuggling) closer, so that she is surrounded by the body heat of both her girls.

 

////

 

The wolf, as ever, is humongous. It makes the panther – a formidable predator – look itty bitty by comparison. Watching them wrestle – tussle and roll around like overgrown carefree babies – fills Laura with a wave of happiness comparable to watching a Doctor Who Christmas Special.

“You’re doing that weird thing with your face again,” LaF teases, handing Perry the first of two large baskets.

“Smiling?” Laura asks confused, turning her attention to her friends as they set up their picnic. Her eyebrows draw together, her mouth quirking off to the side a bit.

“Melting, dear,” Perry offers, smiling gently.

“You’re practically goo, frosh.”

“Well ex-ca-use me if I think my girlfriends' frolicking is adorable,” the Journalism major huffs, rolling her eyes even as she paws through the second basket. She pulls out container after container of food, practically salivating.

“Jeez Perr, you make enough food?” LaF asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Obviously you’ve never seen Laura or Danny eat,” the curly haired girl replies archly, arranging plates and utensils.

“Speaking of Danny… where did they go?”

 

The large red wolf shakes her body, trying to dislodge the overgrown cat from her back. The cat clings to her fur like a cowgirl riding a mildly annoyed bull.

Danny grumble growls, then rolls suddenly, and a startled Carmilla springs away, tail puffed and swishing. In a swirl of smoke, the vampire is bipedal again, scowling and pulling leaves from her wild dark hair.

“Nice, carrot cake.”

The giant werewolf barks and seems to shrug.

The sounds of cracking bones shifting skin accompany Danny’s transformation, and in less than a minute the tall girl kneels on the ground, nude and shivering. Before she can stand, Carmilla tosses her clothes on her head, surprising her into falling over.

“Jerk,” the redhead mutters as she dresses.

“Seems to do it for you,” the vampire responds in a sing-song voice, as close as she will get to referring to the feelings between them (for now at least).

It could become uncomfortable between them, but after a short pause Danny chuckles and nods.

“Maybe you’re right about the head trauma,” she jokes, pulling her hair out from the collar of her sweater and turning to face (her girlfriend? lover? fre-nemy?) the other girl.

She approaches slowly, clearly forcing herself to relax and take things slow. Carmilla rewards her by meeting her halfway and tilting her head (though the vampire can’t help but smirk).

Their kiss is awkward and sweet, like they’re both skittish but want to try anyway. When they pull back Danny is blushing but smiling, and Carmilla looks pleased with herself.

The vampire reaches up and places a hand over the werewolf’s rapidly beating heart (she admits to herself that she may have developed a penchant for the strong rhythm since waking up in the Summer girl’s arms after being rescued, though she will never admit it out loud).

“Careful dead girl. Keep smiling at me like that and I might get the wrong idea and start to think you don’t hate having me around,” Danny warns playfully, though there is a vulnerability in her eyes that makes Carmilla ache.

She can’t reassure the girl with words – words are dangerous, hold power over people and things that Carmilla more than anyone knows is potentially world destroying. Words can confuse and miscommunicate and muddle things. It is why she uses them like weapons – because that’s what they are to her.

“Hmmm,” Carmilla hums, shrugging before standing on her toes for another brief kiss. Actions were better in cases like these anyway.

The kiss is more sure, though no less sweet than the last one (Carmilla is like 99% sure she can’t get cavities, so she shrugs again and lets herself get carried away).

Pulling away, the vampire takes (her girlfriend’s? lover’s?) the redhead’s hand and leads her back to the clearing where the others have settled.

 

“Oh thank god! We were about to call the sheriff’s secret police!” Laura cries, not bothering to get up and shoving a whole cupcake into her mouth.

“Careful cutie, or Dr. Franken-ginger will have to do CPR. You could end up with extra limbs…”

“Oh really Carmilla, that’s quite enough,” Perry chastises primly, interjecting before anyone can start yet another round of bickering.

Since the Fluffy Baby Incident of Adorableness, as LaFontaine calls it, they and the vampire have been squabbling like five year olds over everything, and although it is usually pretty friendly, Lola would like just one day out with her friends and her partner where they don’t snip at each other.

“And she’s right, Laura,” Perry continues, tutting at her charge-cum-friend. “Please chew your food before swallowing it. And really, dessert first?”

“Someone is feeling especially parental today,” Carmilla murmurs, but she smirks and winks at the floor don, who rolls her eyes but grins back.

Using her hold on Danny’s fingers (she hadn’t let go when they reached the others, which is progress and thus will go unremarked upon for fear of spooking the vampire like a wild pony), she leads the taller girl to the blanket and guides her down next to Laura.

Without hesitation, the Summer girl quickly arranges three nutritionally balanced plates (well, mostly, though she adds extra sweet potatoes on Laura’s) and pours a large cup of blood from a thermos, handing them to the appropriate people before making a plate of her own.

Smiling a small, sneaky smile, Carmilla insinuates herself between her girls, stealing a piece of chicken from Danny’s plate and dipping it into her cup before popping it into her mouth. She grins, Cheshire-like, at the werewolf’s grumbling and leans back against her human smugly.

There is only idle conversation as the group gets down to the business of eating. After losing three more items of food to Carmilla, Danny reaches for the containers again. But instead of making the vampire a plate, she just refills her own – tripling up on the meat, because Carmilla seems to like it best. The gesture is clear, and again no one comments on it, but LaFontaine grins wide and Laura and Perry smile approvingly.

Blushing, Danny looks at Carmilla out of the corner of her eye.

“Clearly you are incapable of keeping to your own food,” she mutters.

Carmilla takes another piece of chicken, raising an eyebrow. “Good that you know how this works, gingersnap.”

“It’s adapt or starve to death,” Danny says dryly.

Nodding, Carmilla smiles genuinely. “I would rather you did the former, Jolly Red,” she allows.

Laura bites her lip hard to contain her squeals of happiness, and the others afford Danny the dignity of pretending they don’t see the tears in the corners of her eyes.

When the werewolf looks back at her plate she is annoyed to find all of her chicken gone.

“Carmilla…” she groans, rolling her eyes.

The vampire only laughs, snuggling into Laura’s side and winking unapologetically. “Your plate seems to need refilling again, carrot cake. You must be hungry today.”

“Asshole vampire,” the redhead grumbles, irritated but affectionate. With a sigh, she serves herself more chicken.

Laura smiles, sighing with contentment and wrapping her arms around Carmilla, humming happily. This was a much, much better Saturday morning than the last.

“What are you thinking, cutie?”

“Hmmm, that we have a four day weekend coming up, and I can’t wait.”

“We should all take a trip, do some exploring?” Danny suggests, politely including the other gingers.

Carmilla and Perry grimace, but Laura and LaF light up at the idea.

“Yesss! There are these weird caves we learned about in class last week – the ones with the bio-luminescent lichen and miniature versions of what seem to be Devonian flora and fauna!” the scientist enthuses, looking at their partner for support. Finding none, they glance at the youngest among them.

“I think that’s by the waterfall that’s supposed to sing on full moons and possibly grant wishes, right?” Laura agrees, nodding and bouncing a little with excitement.

Carmilla glares at Danny. “You did this.”

“I know…”

“You are responsible for the hell they unleash.”

Danny sighs, nodding her head, already exhausted just thinking about it. “I know.”

Relenting, Carmilla nudges Danny’s thigh with her foot. “You’re lucky I’m so fond of you, bean sprout.”

The werewolf blushes. “Yeah, I know.”

Reaching out her hand and magnanimously allowing the redhead to tangle their fingers together, Carmilla grins. “I think I’ll keep you.”

Danny’s smile is bright enough to power the sun.

 

fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The end of this lil fic, which started fluffy then took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Sorry-not-sorry about that?
> 
> Hope y'all have enjoyed!


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